Among the dispersible emulsifing agents typically employed are certain well-known polyethoxy surfactants, such as the nonyl phenol ethoxylates. While a great many of these polyethoxy surfactants are presently commercially available, experience with several types of these has not demonstrated any significant advantage of one over another--at least in relation to the desired, ultimate properties of a polish film.
The success of a polish film is often determined from a variety of physical properties, such as: (1) the gloss of the polish film after application onto a substrate and drying; (2) the apparent "smoothness" of the polished surface (i.e., the intensity or "brightness" of the polish-applied substrate in relation to the amount of film-leveling that is utilized to achieve such a result) after the surface-applied film has been allowed to dry; (3) the "resistance-to-soil" quality of the polish; and (4) the perceived depth or "thickness" of the polish film that is formed. The term "the depth of the polish" is herein defined as yet another type or form of an empirical perception of the polish layer on the substrate.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that alkoxylated amine surfactants unexpectedly improve gloss, leveling, and cleaning, as well as soil resistance of polish films. Indeed, there was not even a suggestion in the literature (i.e. the prior art did not teach) that such surfactants would have any effect whatsoever upon improving the properties of the applied polish film. (The alkoxylated amine surfactants, perhaps not co-incidentally, are generally more expensive than a vast majority of those types of surfactants which are typically favored in commercial polishes.) Yet it has been discovered--and the present invention illustrates--that the above-mentioned alkoxylated amine surfactants can be used in addition to, or as replacement for, a variety of ingredients (such as stabilizers, cleaning agents and emulsifiers) that are currently typically included in commercial polish compositions. In particular, the present invention illustrates that certain alkoxylated amine surfactants can be used as a replacement for one commercially-available non-ionic surfactant, which itself functions not only as a stabilizer and cleaning agent but also as an emulsifier as well.
It has further been discovered, where use of a surfactant in an intermediate composition results in the presence of such surfactant in the ultimate composition, that replacement of many of the conventional surfactant ingredients--i.e., substitution of the alkoxylated amine surfactant of the present invention in place thereof--tends to improve the ultimate composition as well. For example, it has been observed that the ultimate composition when applied onto a substrate as a film exhibits, among other things, superior soil resistance, enhanced gloss values, enhanced depth of gloss, and superior leveling properties. It can therefore be appreciated that the alkoxylated amine surfactants of the present invention can be used in a variety of commercial polymer products such as wax-based or resin-containing polish-composition intermediates.